PORSCHE announced its new 911 GT3 RS has become the third Porsche production model to lap Nurburgring’s Nordschleife circuit in Germany in under seven minutes.
Company race driver Kevin Estre set a lap time of six minutes and 56.4 seconds around the 20.6-kilometer Nordschleife track — a benchmark for road-approved sports cars, Porsche said. The time is 24 seconds faster than the best lap achieved by the previous GT3 RS model. The other Porsches that lapped the track in under seven minutes are the 918 Spyder and the 911 GT2 RS.
The 911 GT3 RS is based on the 911 GT3, but gets a motor sport-developed chassis; a 520-hp, 4.0-liter, naturally aspirated, flat-six engine; and a recalibrated rear axle steering. The engine makes 20 hp more than the engine in the previous model, as well as that in the 911 GT3. It bolts to a specially calibrated seven-speed PDK. Porsche said the car can sprint from a standstill to 100 kph in 3.2 seconds and reach a 312-kph top speed.
Ensuring that the power gets to the tarmac are a set of staggered-size footwear. In front are 20-inch wheels wrapped in new 265/35 tires, which Porsche said “enhance agility and steering behavior.” The rear wheels measure 21 inches and are fitted with 325/30 tires, which improve traction.
“The GT3 RS is unbelievably close to our racing car GT3 R. This is thanks to the new generation of tires for road going sports cars. I like the engine of the GT3 RS a lot. Up to 9,000 revs per minute from a six-cylinder engine just feels fantastic. The sound is a dream and the torque is massive,” Mr. Estre said after setting the lap record.
Porsche said the 29-year-old Estre competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship (including the 24 Hours of Le Mans) aboard a 911 RSR, and in the ADAC GT Masters in a 911 GT3 R.
